This invention relates to a leg attachment assembly for a bird decoy, in particular, to a decoy for a relatively large bird such as a stork or heron, and to a decoy mounted in the ground such as in a field for hunting or in a garden.
Many types of artificial birds or decoys are known in the field. Some are designed primarily for use in hunting to attract live birds, others are for aesthetic purposes only (e.g. lawn and garden displays), and others are appropriate for either use.
A characteristic found in many decoys is that the upper body of the decoy is often provided with the shape, texture and colors to simulate a live bird in fine detail, but the lower body and legs are often provided with virtually no detail similar to those parts of a real bird. The mounting assembly of such a decoy typically comprises a simple rod shoved into the ground with the legless body mounted on the top of the rod. This lack of detail for the legs and lower portion of the decoy may be of little consequence for decoys which float on the water, since the bottom portion of the decoy lies below the surface and cannot be seen. However, when the decoy is displayed on the ground, whether for hunting in fields or for lawn and garden displays, the straight, lifeless rod typically used to support the body of the decoy can be easily seen.
A separate mounting assembly or "leg" assembly is normally required for large decoys for the purposes of ease of manufacturing, shipping, and in the case of hunting for transporting decoys to and from the hunting area. One known decoy which provides a lifelike looking leg section connects that section to the body with plastic snap protrusions which are inserted into corresponding holes in the side of the body of the decoy. Such snap-in plugs are often difficult to assemble, very difficult to disassemble, and relatively expensive to manufacture due to the tolerance requirements for the snap in plugs. Further, after a number of uses, the plug-in connections may become worn and fail to fit snugly together as originally designed.
The drawbacks and objectionable features of the presently known methods of mounting the decoy therefore relate primarily to either lack of detail in the underside and leg structure of the decoy; difficulty in assembly or disassembly of the legs to the body of the decoy; and difficulty and expense in manufacturing the decoy.